JF Ptak Science Books  Quick Post

Images displaying collective consumption over a long period of time, put together and arranged in one place to display the largeness of it all are pretty dramatic. (Like seeing a lifetime supply of butter consumed, or toothpaste used, or gasoline pumped, or sleep hours combined).  Nothing quite succeeds like excess, even when  here isn’t any–collecting discretely-used stuff used in bits and pieces over the short-term can add up to quite a lot if collected and displayed in its long-term use.  As in the case of this relatively modest consumption by “an average family of three” over a four month period in 1949. It just looks like a lot, when gathered together–more so, when you consider that this is a third of a year’s consumption, which means that if the full year was displayed it would probably encircle the family. 

Understatement alrt: Great Britain suffered food and material shortages for years after the end of WWII, a difficult peacetime in victory.  That said, this four month assortment of food looks to be pretty spare, especially for fruits and cheese. 

Source: The Illustrated London News, 26 March, 1949.